Andy Sabisch
Active member
As many of you know, I was involved in many of the models that Minelab released over the years from the original Sovereign through the E-Trac and virtually everything in between.
As various projects reached fruition and the final product released, some of the units used in the testing and development were "written off" and those involved in the testing were allowed to hold onto them for the effort expended.
While most of the units I was allowed to keep have wound up on the wall of our shop, I have one that came to light unpacking some boxes recently that I am posting here to see if there is a collector of Minelab memorabilia (and functioning memorabilia at that) that might want to add something to their collection.
Everyone has seen the Quattro MP . . . the dark blue little brother of the Explorer and E-Trac - in fact it is a virtual clone of the Safari but that is a whole other story
.
Well, how about a white Quattro? This one was put in an Explorer XS housing during the testing & development and in fact many that saw it in the field at the time thought it was in fact an Explorer which was part of the reason for not putting it in the blue case until it was released.
[attachment 303860 PB290185.JPG]
The project to develop the Quattro MP was code named "MI5" and yes, even metal detector manufacturers come up with these secret names when they are working on a project . . . . . this unit was Serial Number 03 in the MI5 project - 01 was in Australia and 02 was in Ireland being used by Des Dunne who used to be their go-to guy over there.
[attachment 303861 PB290187.JPG]
As you can see, when you power it on, you see it still reflects the pre-production software although this was the code that went into production with the wording you see in the photo removed.
[attachment 303863 PB290188.JPG]
[attachment 303864 PB290189.JPG]
So what you have here is a fully functional Quattro MP which provides the same performance as the Safari (except for the Pro coil which was the only real difference on the Safari) but in an Explorer housing and containing the "MI5" project moniker with Serial Number 03.
[attachment 303862 PB290186.JPG]
I have similar units for many of the Minelab projects I was involved in including a signed, personalized E-Trac which does not see outside but am willing to let this one go to someone that would like to add a unique piece of Minelab history to their collection - and remember, it is fully functional.
If you are interested in this one-of-a-kind Quattro or want some more information on the MI5 project for background, shoot me an E-mail at info@sabischbooks.com.
Andy Sabisch
As various projects reached fruition and the final product released, some of the units used in the testing and development were "written off" and those involved in the testing were allowed to hold onto them for the effort expended.
While most of the units I was allowed to keep have wound up on the wall of our shop, I have one that came to light unpacking some boxes recently that I am posting here to see if there is a collector of Minelab memorabilia (and functioning memorabilia at that) that might want to add something to their collection.
Everyone has seen the Quattro MP . . . the dark blue little brother of the Explorer and E-Trac - in fact it is a virtual clone of the Safari but that is a whole other story
.Well, how about a white Quattro? This one was put in an Explorer XS housing during the testing & development and in fact many that saw it in the field at the time thought it was in fact an Explorer which was part of the reason for not putting it in the blue case until it was released.
[attachment 303860 PB290185.JPG]
The project to develop the Quattro MP was code named "MI5" and yes, even metal detector manufacturers come up with these secret names when they are working on a project . . . . . this unit was Serial Number 03 in the MI5 project - 01 was in Australia and 02 was in Ireland being used by Des Dunne who used to be their go-to guy over there.
[attachment 303861 PB290187.JPG]
As you can see, when you power it on, you see it still reflects the pre-production software although this was the code that went into production with the wording you see in the photo removed.
[attachment 303863 PB290188.JPG]
[attachment 303864 PB290189.JPG]
So what you have here is a fully functional Quattro MP which provides the same performance as the Safari (except for the Pro coil which was the only real difference on the Safari) but in an Explorer housing and containing the "MI5" project moniker with Serial Number 03.
[attachment 303862 PB290186.JPG]
I have similar units for many of the Minelab projects I was involved in including a signed, personalized E-Trac which does not see outside but am willing to let this one go to someone that would like to add a unique piece of Minelab history to their collection - and remember, it is fully functional.
If you are interested in this one-of-a-kind Quattro or want some more information on the MI5 project for background, shoot me an E-mail at info@sabischbooks.com.
Andy Sabisch
This kind of 'skunkworks' thing only comes along once...I have no doubt you will move this quickly Andy..